Tennessee GOP House Speaker Beth Harwell promised Tuesday to treat Democrats with respect although Republicans appear poised to hold a supermajority in the General Assembly following the November general election, reports Hank Hayes.
Harwell, R-Nashville, spent Monday and Tuesday stumping for House GOP candidates in Northeast Tennessee.
“I told my members when I became speaker, I would be speaker for the entire body, and I would treat every member with respect, dignity and try to be fair to everyone,” Harwell said at a reception hosted by state Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport. “It is my goal to make sure we continue that fine heritage of our state. I never wanted to see us get embroiled in the partisan bickering that exists in Washington, D.C., that has about brought this nation to its knees.
“I’m proud to say that our Republican majority, I think, has treated the Democrat Party with respect. … I was there back when we were not always treated that well as a minority party. We haven’t treated the Democrats in a way we were treated. We are called to treat the Democrats in a way we would have liked to be treated. And if we do that, there’s no doubt in my mind we will be the majority party in this state for a long time.”
…In the November general election, Harwell predicted “anywhere from two to 10” pickups of House seats for Republicans.
A GOP supermajority in the House, said Harwell, would allow her to suspend rules and move agenda items faster.